GOOD HOPE – With a quorum just barely met, Good Hope's City Council kept its meeting quick and efficient Monday evening. The minutes from the last meeting were approved, and the absence of both Maxie Jones and Greg Brown shortened the segment for council member reports. John Harris chose to save his report for later, as it involved new business for the annual budget. Susan Eller reported nothing new and everything was working well, although an update on the water plant said that the new control panel will be installed as soon as a few new parts come in. Mayor Jerry Bartlett congratulated Taft Dillashaw on the high park turn out, which Dillashaw reported was up 20 percent from last year.
The main item on tonight's agenda involved amending the 2016-2017 budget to reflect some losses and the reallocation of funds. Under revenue, the town's excise tax was down approximately $12,000 due to construction on diesel pumps lowering business, which was not anticipated when the budget was drafted. The council's auditor recommended immediately amending the budget to reflect that loss, which was made into a motion and passed. Under expenses, City Clerk Christie Chamblee pointed out some overspending on maintenance work on the municipal building. City hall replaced rotting ceiling tiles, put in new blinds and was re-painted, and a large gas heater was purchased for the maintenance shop. This left the budget line for municipal building maintenance and supplies over the allowed budget, so Chamblee looked for places to reallocate some funds. She found that last September, due to rumors of health insurance prices skyrocketing, she added an extra $5,100 to the employee health insurance line. That money was not as necessary as anticipated, so the council passed a motion to move the extra $5,100 to maintenance on municipal buildings.
The only other thing under new business was a notice that the Good Hope High School physics class will be hosting a community night this Wednesday, April 26, from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. to celebrate their accomplishments. The class is involved in a project with the University of Alabama in Huntsville and NASA, and they will help design a payload to go to Neptune and one of its moons, Triton.
After the announcement, the council adjourned.
The Good Hope City Council meets on the second and fourth Mondays of each month at 6:30 p.m. at Good Hope City Hall. The public is welcome to attend.
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